“Hey.”
“Well, hi there, Sam. How's it going? How was the trip to Florida?”
Noncommital sound. “We didn't go.”
“What? I thought this was the big deal, whole family, Disney world … what happened?”
“It was that new Florida law, guess they passed it sooner than anybody thought they would.”
“Yeah, I heard about that but figured you must be down there already so they'd let you stay.”
“No such luck.”
“Ahh, that's a shame. Did you get airline tickets refunds?”
“Yeah. But you know I came so close to getting this done. Me and the family had our passports, our proof of US citizenship papers – then they come up with this certificates of origins BS. How was I supposed to get verified documentation of the nationality and place of residence for our ancestors back five generations in just two weeks?”
“There are websites that supposedly can do it quick.”
“Yeah, I don't trust those places. All the ones that popped up when states started passing origin laws seem to be located in the states with those laws. Can't help but think they've got some connection with the state governments.”
“That's life today, you know. ” Short pause. “Shame about missing the trip. I know Duane and Allie really wanted to go.”
“Well, so did I. I figured if the kids were going to see in person what's left of the Everglades we'd better go soon.”
“You know those pictures you see of it, just a very small part looks like that. It even looks kinda rundown from photos you see from earlier in the century.”
“But at least my kids would have seen it in person. There's so few places left nowadays that are like when we were kids.”
“But there's other things to see there. You were going to go to the 'Venice of the Americas', weren't you?”
“Yeah, the new marketing campaign for Miami. But you know, just sealing up the first three floors of buildings against the water and sticking fakey-looking old Italian-styled facades on modern condos isn't really that romantic.”
“But the gondolas you ride are built like the authentic ones, just out of Fiberglas. And those really nice restaurants with patios that sit only a few feet above high tide look like fun places. And sunrise over the city and all the canals reflecting the light.”
“I can get that in NYC, sunrise on the water between buildings in downtown.”
“That only happens a couple of times a month and only lasts a few hours.”
“Yeah.” A sigh. “That's the way it goes. But we won't be spending fifteen grand on vacationing in Florida.”
“Are you guys still going to try for someplace this year?”
“Yeah” Short laugh. “But one without so much water.”
“Well, then you've got the Southwest. Not much water there.”
“What, Disneyland? I'd have to guess when the AQI from the smoke would be halfway bearable. Nobody can predict that.”
“I've heard the Lake Powell Basin is a worth the trip.”
“Ummmm …. somebody else mentioned that. I should go check it on line.”
“Oh, it's beautiful. They've made the entire empty reservoir into a national reserve, soon to be a park. The land at the bottom is now growing up in a wonderfully natural way from all the silt that backed up there when it was full, good rich soil, almost like it used to be, and there's only a few paved roads in it. The Colorado River still is there, tho smaller, and it winds through the park nicely.”
“Yeah, that's cool, but … I also wanted the kids to have some sense of the decadence, the stupid things this nation did that caused climate change.”
“There's the dam!” A little more excited than normal tone. “You can see it from parts of the park if you pick the right campsite.”
“It's still there? I thought they tore it down.”
“Are you kidding? You know how huge that thing is? Nah, they just chopped out part of the base to drain the lake. It's massive. Sitting there in the desert sunshine, it's got that aged concrete look – basically like the pyramids, a huge useless product signifying how a nation wasted its resources. They even have tours of the generator rooms and stuff. Original equipment left behind.”
“OK, don't get all ecological on me.”
“Hey, I'm going to the Powell Basin someday. But I'm only suggesting places to visit with the climate change motif. ”
“Well … that could be just about anywhere in this country, right?”
A sigh. “Yeah, I guess. So, say hi to Margie and the kids, and if you want anymore suggestions on a vacation, give me a call.”
“I was thinking about Canada.”
A snort. “Everybody goes to Canada for vacation!”
“You gotta admit, there are places there that look pretty close to great places people used to vacation at here.”
“There's no Everglades.”
“Yep, I'm afraid that, quite literally, is the truth. See ya.”
“Take care, there's another heat dome coming in. Bye.”
